


Wave After Wave

by onedoorcinemas



Series: In Sickness and in Health [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Half-Elopement, Land's End, Love, Parents, Party, Pregnancy, Sea, Storm - Freeform, Waves, Wedding, beach, elopement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 17:37:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15823734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onedoorcinemas/pseuds/onedoorcinemas
Summary: "They walked in silence and Harry listened to the wind howling and whistling in every nook and cranny it found. He and Ginny walked side by side, fingers loosely intertwined. She had put up the collar of her old, black leather jacket against the wind and her hair was flying around, being attacked, like mad. Her eyes were glistening in the twilight of the dusk settling early around them. Harry had never found her more beautiful."





	Wave After Wave

**Author's Note:**

> This is my take on Harry and Ginny's wedding. If you don't like it when people swear and use expletives, maybe skip this one---

**Wave after Wave**  
_Harry and Ginny (6th June 2003)_  

 

"We're talking more committedly." Harry said, between a forkful of peas and a sip of his cider.   
"How so?" Ginny asked.  
"We're not talking hypothetically anymore." He explained, "about marriage and kids and the whole thing."   
Ginny smiled.   
"Maybe you're right," she said after short consideration.   
There were a few moments of silence as each of them ate and thought about it. Ginny was the first to break it.   
"What do you think that means?" She asked, solemnly. "For us, I mean. For our future?"   
"I dunno." Harry admitted honestly, taking another sip from his cider. Ginny frowned.   
"I mean, of course I want to marry you – but I don't want to do it just because we think it's the proper next step to take." He was quick to elaborate. "And I never wanted a big wedding. I don't want all the people around." 

"Then let's go to the beach somewhere and get married." Ginny said quietly. “Right now.” For a second Harry thought she was joking but the laugh caught in his throat when he looked at her: Her face was earnest but open, her eyes bright. His heart started beating faster and faster, working itself up into an almost frantic gallop against his ribs.   
"You're serious, aren't you?" He whispered hoarsely.   
"I am," she said, smiling. "What's the point of waiting? We already know we won't have a huge celebration. And all we needed was to be ready. And now we are, aren't we?" She pressed on, her smile fading, making way for a serious expression – almost one of determination.    
"I think so." Harry said slowly. His mind was sluggish and all he knew for certain was that his heart beat so fast it threatened to punch a hole into his ribcage.   
"Are we – are we really going to do this?" He asked dazedly.  

"I love you." He added, "I love you more than anything, but..." He was interrupted by her lips on his. They were warm against him and so were her hands that had entwined with the hair at the back of his head. He sighed, returning to himself slowly as he savoured her kiss. He was never going to get tired of kissing her, that he knew for sure.   
"I love you, too." She murmured when they parted after what felt like an eternity and only a few seconds at the same time.   
"And shouldn't that be enough?" She asked and settled herself in his lap.   
"It _is_ enough." Harry murmured.   
"Why are you hesitating, then?" Her eyes were still soft, like molten chocolate – it wasn't an accusation.   
"I'm not hesitating because I don't think it's a good idea." He tried to explain. "I just thought we could at last have _some_ witnesses." He replied. "Maybe tell your parents, Ron and Hermione, your brothers and – and Teddy...?"   
"That sounds good." Ginny said. "Why don't we tell them and see if they're free?” There was a distinct glimmer in her eyes now, “We could still do it today." She mused.  
Harry let himself be infected by her enthusiasm.  
"Okay." He grinned and kissed her.  

Ginny used the fireplace in the sitting room to tell her parents and came back grinning broadly.   
"Mum almost fell off the bench. And dad teared up." She reported, "Anyway, they'll be here in about five minutes."   
They each sent their patroni out. Harry sent the stag out to Ron and Hermione, to Neville, to Minerva McGonagall, asking the latter to officiate the ceremony and to Hagrid, who after he’d ditched teaching for good a few years after the war, had gone back to taking care of the many creatures on the Hogwarts grounds. The last of Harry’s patroni went on its way to Andromeda asking her to attend and bring Teddy, if it wasn’t too much trouble.   
Ginny sent her horse on its way to George and the rest of her brothers, telling Charlie explicitly to stay where he was (in Romania) because it was not a big deal and she didn’t want him to go out of his way to be there. She also sent one to Luna, asking her to only come if she was somewhere close – and not if she was in Brazil, Australia or China again. You never knew where she and Rolf were dwelling these days.   
Molly and Arthur arrived at their front door only a few seconds after the silvery glimmer of the patroni had left the room. Ginny went to open while Harry stayed in the kitchen.  

Molly was already crying when she swooped into the small room and engulfed him in a tight hug.   
"I am so happy," she sobbed, "for you two."   
"Thanks." Harry replied awkwardly but a grin spread on his face anyway.  
"Where do you want the ceremony to take place?" Molly asked when she let go of him.   
"We haven't really thought it all the way through." Harry replied, shrugging his shoulders apologetically. “We’re kinda making it up as we go...”   
Arthur hugged him, too, which was a first even after all these years Harry had known him.   
"Molly and I have always been of the opinion that you two are about perfect for each other." He said a little gruffly 

"Tea, dad?" Ginny asked from the doorframe where she had found rescue from the crowdedness of the small kitchen.   
"Yes, please." Arthur murmured and automatically looked around for the teapot.   
"I'll make some." Harry volunteered, "why don't you all go sit down?"   
There was a knock on the door the minute Ginny had ushered her parents into the living-room.   
"I'll get it!" Harry yelled in their general direction. He abandoned the teapot on the counter midway through preparing tea and made his way to the front door to open.   
Hermione flung herself at him, the second the door was open wide enough for her to fit through. He hugged her back, a little surprised.  

“Hey.” He laughed. Ron patted him on the back and grinned.   
“Hullo, mate.”, he said.   
Hermione squeezed Harry tightly one last time and then let go of him. She beamed up to him.  
“I’m so happy we get to be a part of this,” she said. “I always thought it was going to be a full elopement.” She was still smiling.  
“Thanks, by the way,” grinned Ron. “You just won me ten quid!”   
Harry shot him a quizzical look.   
“We made a bet ages ago,” Hermione explained, “about whether or not you would just tell us one day ‘oh by the way, we got married over the weekend’.” She grinned. “Ron was certain you weren’t gonna do that, and so he won.”   
Ron looked extraordinarily smug about it as he explained, “I knew Ginny wasn’t going to convince you.”   
Harry didn’t care to admit he was surprised at how well Ron had predicted the situation.   
They retreated into the kitchen and as Harry fished the teabags out of the cabinet, Hermione asked him: “Who’s going to officiate?”   
“We were hoping Minerva was going to do it, but we haven’t heard back from her.” Harry said. “Maybe she’s busy – she’s headmistress after all.”  

They all sat around the coffee table drinking tea, talking about this and that for quite some time, telling stories and jokes until there was another knock at the door. Ginny got up and went to open. The high-pitched squeal she issued upon doing so could only mean Luna was there. Half a minute later, Luna’s head with the dirty-blonde, very long hair peeked around the corner of the living-room.   
“Hello, my friends.”, she said in her etheral, dreamy tone. Harry hadn’t seen her in almost a year and got up from the sofa quickly to hug her.   
“Fancy a cup of tea, Luna?” He offered.  
“No, thanks,” she declined, “I am rather out of the habit of drinking tea, I suppose. Don’t seem to like it very much anymore.” She smiled at him.  
“I’m sorry Rolf couldn’t make it,” she continued. “He and our partner Tom stayed in Brazil. We found the trail of a big jungle cat a few days ago and we believe it to be a feral cat of some sort that used to be domesticised by wizarding folk but isn’t anymore. We think those cats have the ability to breathe underwater, like a fish or something.”, she explained, eyes lighting up as she spoke. “Maybe we’ll find it one of these days.”   
“Sounds cool,” Ron said but it didn’t sound like he meant it. Ginny snorted and put an arm around Luna.   
“Breathe underwater? Like how?”   
Before Luna could answer there was another knock.   
“I’ll get it,” Harry volunteered, happy to get off the crowded sofa.  

He opened and found himself face to face with Neville, Hannah, George and Percy. He was stunned into a surprised silence at their showing up for a moment.  
“Hi!”, grinned Neville. “We’re here for a wedding.” The laughed. And Harry found his speech again.   
“Come in.” He stepped away from the door and they filed into the small hallway one by one. “I’m so glad you’re all here.”  
Ginny and Luna rounded the corner and offered their hellos as well.   
“Did you all come here together?” Luna asked.   
Percy shook his head, “No, I came from home. We met right outside.” He smiled and turned to Ginny.   
“Audrey says she’s sorry but she can’t risk apparating anymore. Not with the baby due in two weeks.”  

At that exact moment a very familiar, silvery shimmering, cat burst through the door Harry had just closed.   
“I will be there, of course, I will,” Minerva McGonagall’s voice rang from the patronus’ mouth. “I might just need half an hour to finish an important piece of work. I suppose we will meet at your place, then? I’ll look to bring Hagrid along, as well.” The floating, silver cat vanished into thin air and Harry grinned, gladly. He sent his own patronus back confirming time and place.  

 

“Well, where were you planning on having the ceremony?”, Hermione asked Ginny when everyone had sat down on the armchairs, the sofa, the floor and on some conjured chairs. Ginny hesitated.  
“I always thought it would be nice to get married on a beach,” she said quietly. “Not necessarily a tropical one, but I’ve always loved the beach. What about you?”, she asked and looked sideways at Harry, who had taken a seat on the floor in front of the fireplace. He smiled at her.   
“I don’t really know,” he admitted, and felt his face grow a little warm.  
“But I’d like it to be a place without any history attached,” he added.   
“What do you mean?”, Molly asked curiously, leaning forward with a little difficulty.   
“Well- I was thinking about places a few times before and a lot came to my mind”, he elaborated, looking at Ginny, instead of Molly. “I thought about all the places that mean the most to me. Hogwarts, Godric’s Hollow, Grimmauld Place...” _The Burrow,_ he thought. “But they’re all places where so much happened.” He said and closed his eyes. His cheeks were burning.   
“And I’d like for our wedding to have its own place. You know, one where nothing else can tarnish the memory,” he finished.   
“I’d love that.” Ginny whispered and kissed him. She was holding his hand, now, and smiled at him.   
“A clean slate.”  

“Maybe, we could all go to Land’s End?”, Hermione suggested. “I went there a couple of months ago,” she murmured and looked down. Ron took her hand and squeezed it.   
“It’s really beautiful.”, Molly chimed in. “And its far enough from Tinworth to not have any history connected to it.”   
Harry had heard about Land’s End a few times before, he remembered now. It was the westernmost point of Cornwall, and mostly he’d heard about it on the news, when a storm caused enormous waves to crash onto the cliffs. He’d been fascinated by the pictures the Daily Prophet had printed. Huge waves crashing on the high rocks, water splashing everywhere. He’d loved the energy of it.   
Ginny looked at him and smiled.   
“Sounds good.” She murmured.   
“Sounds perfect.” Harry answered. “Let’s do it.” 

Andromeda and Teddy arrived mere seconds before Minerva did. Ginny and Harry both went to the door. Teddy jumped into Harrys arms, squealing unintelligible words.   
Minerva and Andromeda shook hands and watched smiling until Harry managed to free himself from Teddy’s hugs. They entered, and Ginny closed the door.   
“Thank you so much for coming.” He said and looked at Minerva, grinning. “We’re so happy to have you.”   
“I’m happy to be of assistance, Harry,” she replied. “Hagrid is waiting for you to floo him. He said he’s happy to come as long as he doesn’t have to squeeze through your matchbox of a hallway.”   
She was grinning and Harry snorted. When Hagrid had come to their house for the first time he had knocked a hole into the wall of the hallway.  
The hellos took a rather long time, seen as they were now a party of fourteen and everyone had to shuffle around the crammed room to greet the newcomers. Harry used the fireplace in the kitchen to floo into Hagrid’s Hut.  

“Land’s End, eh?”, he said gruffly. “There’s a big storm out west, I don’t think tha’s a good idea! The waves’ll be high.”   
“Doesn’t matter to us.” Harry scoffed.   
“Okay,” Hagrid shrugged and then grinned, “You’ve both never been the scared ones, have’ya?” Harry grinned up to him.   
“Well I’ll be on my way, then, dunno how long it’ll take me. Probably about half an hour or summat.” Hagrid said and got up with an enormous sigh. “These bones just won’t work the way they used to, Harry, I tell ya.”   
“Thanks for coming.”, Harry replied. “And don’t hurry too much – we’ll wait at the lighthouse, okay?”   
“Yeah. See ya there.” Hagrid grumbled, searching around for his coat.   
“Bye.” Harry pulled his head back into the empty kitchen, smiling at Ginny who came in to make fresh tea. She returned his smile as he left to go entertain their guests.   

 When Ginny came back into the living-room her face was lit up even more than before.   
“Charlie’s just flooed,” she whispered quietly in Harry’s ear, as she sat down on the floor next to him.  
“He’s coming. But don’t tell anybody! He wants it to be a surprise for Mum and Dad.” She giggled. “He’s going to Shell Cottage and he and Bill will come to Land’s End from there.”  

 

They decided to leave a good fifteen minutes later, when Minerva and Andromeda had finished their tea.   
“Okay, everyone,” Hermione raised her voice when they were all standing outside, “For those of you who’ve never been to Land’s End, it’s the westernmost point of England in Cornwall.”   
“Oh _, really?_ " George mocked her.   
“There’s a lighthouse there. If you concentrate hard enough on that, there shouldn’t be a problem.” Hermione went on, ignoring George’s comment.   
“We should go one by one as to not cause a disturbance. I’ll apparate first and see if the coast is clear and send my patronus back.” She waited a heartbeat until everyone agreed in some way.   
“Be careful!” Harry told her, “Hagrid warned me that the weather is supposed to be bad. Apparently there’s a storm a few miles off the coast.”   
Hermione nodded, then she spun on her heel and vanished with a crack.  
They waited for about five minutes, slow conversations breaking them up into small groups.   
“I’m glad we’re doing it this way.” Ginny whispered and took Harry’s hand. He squeezed her fingers.   
“Me, too.” He murmured back. “It feels so wonderfully normal.”  

Then Hermione’s otter appeared in their midst: “Everything’s okay here. Have put up Muggle-Repellent-Charm, but there is no one here anyway. The waves are monstrous, and the wind is sharp, so be careful to not apparate too close to the shore.” Her voice rang clear among the sudden quiet. Then the otter vanished.   
“Okay.” Ginny began, “Let’s do this.”  
“I’ll go next.”, Ron said and took a step forward. He seemed a bit white-faced to Harry, but he took a stand, grasped his wand with his right hand and spun around. There was a harsh crack, and he was gone.   
“How long do we wait until the next...?” Harry asked.   
“Dunno, half a minute?” Neville replied. He and Hannah were already in position. It seemed like they were going to side-along. Harry looked at them.   
“I can’t be trusted with apparating”, Hannah said, grinning embarrassedly and turning pink in the face when she noticed his glance. “And with Land’s End being as close to the sea as it is, I don’t wanna risk it.”   
“I can give you some tips, if you want,” Luna chimed in. “If you get rid of all your Wrackspurts it’ll get better.”   
“Thanks, but-” The rest of Hannah’s reply was ripped from them as Neville disapparated.   
“I’ll go next. Those Wrackspurts need tending to.” Luna said and took out her wand. She waited another few moments, and then disappeared with the softest of plops.  
“I wanna be able to do it this quiet.” Ginny sighed leaning her head on Harry’s shoulder.   
“Andromeda, you and Teddy next?”  
Andromeda nodded, picked up Teddy who waved goodbye at Harry and Ginny and the two of them disapparated.   
Percy went next, then George, Molly and Arthur.   
“I’ll see you in a moment.”, Minerva said and was gone an instant later.  

It was just Harry and Ginny, now, in their front yard, holding hands.   
“I love you.”, Ginny said, looking ahead.  
“I love you, too.”, Harry murmured. “And I’m so glad we’re doing this.”   
“Can I go first?” Ginny asked, biting her lip. Harry nodded, “Of course.” She kissed him briefly, tightened her grip on her wand, looked at him and left.   
Harry breathed. Once. Twice. Tree times, four. He took his wand from the back pocket of his jeans, felt the warmth of the holly against his palm. His wand always felt warm and welcoming in his hand. He concentrated on the lighthouse at Land’s End, Cornwall, closed his eyes an turned on his heels.  

 _Land’s End, Cornwall._  

 _Land’s End, Cornwall._  

 _The lighthouse at Land’s End_  

_Cornwall_

_Land’s End._

The oh-so-familiar feeling of being squeezed through a very narrow garden hose was still no easier to endure than all those years ago, when he had first experienced it. But as usual, before the constriction could suffocate him, it stopped, and a gush of cold wind hit Harry in the face, almost knocking off his glasses. He heard the roaring of the waves crashing against the cliffs and just stood still for a moment, eyes closed, listening. It sounded like an enormous beast struggling to escape the confines of its entrapment.   
Spray hit his face, cold and biting even though it was June. He opened his eyes and looked around. He had arrived about two-hundred yards to the left of the lighthouse, on the highest point in the surrounding area. Ten yards beneath him the gigantic waves were crashing against the cliff, spitting and hissing, spraying up high into the wind-beaten air. Out on the sea, there must be a powerful storm, but here, on the shore it wasn’t raining.   
In the distance he could make out a long sandy beach. It had to be low-tide because the strip of white was very broad, even though the relentless waves were breaking with unimaginable force, gushing onto the sand and invading it very far, farther than Harry had ever seen waves go. They drew him in and he had to force his gaze away from the endless crashing in the distance to find the others.   
They had gathered about halfway between the lighthouse and his position, it wasn’t far but still, Harry considered apparating. He dismissed his idea pretty quickly, though, and started walking downhill, the wind pushing him, to where they were waiting for him.  

“Brilliant, isn’t it?” He beamed, when he reached them.   
“If you say so, mate,” Ron yelled back, over the howling of a particularly strong gust of wind but he was grinning as well. “It’s mental.”   
They turned to seek shelter at the lighthouse.  
“Not so fast!”, a voice came from somewhere behind Harry. Everyone turned around. There, a few yards away stood Bill and Charlie, grinning broadly and waving as everyone looked at them.   
“ _Charlie!_ " Molly screamed, launching herself at her second eldest son. He hugged her, resting his head on hers.   
“Hi, Mum,” he said calmly.  

Bill came over and shook Harry’s hand.   
“Are you sure, you wanna marry into this bunch of lunatics?” He asked, gesturing towards Molly who had trapped Charlie in her arms, his lips were twitching. Harry grinned back and said nothing. Ginny hugged her oldest brother, laughing.   
“Don’t give him ideas, Bill, _Merlin's beard_!” She scolded jokingly.  
Bill laughed as well.   
“How’s Fleur?”, Harry asked.   
“Oh, you know, _pregnant._ " Bill said and raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know how I’m going to survive the next four months until that baby comes.” He joked, “No, seriously, she’s fine, apart from the whining that none of her clothes fit her anymore.” Harry nodded.   
“And Vic?”   
“Awesome, as always.” Bill’s eyes lit up. “Now that she can speak there’s really no escaping her wit,” he swooned.   
“We’ll have to come visit sometime.”, Ginny chimed in, “we could bring Teddy so they can be witty together.” She gave a little laugh.  

Bill then moved on to greet his other siblings, his dad and everybody else. Charlie, who had finally been released by his mother, walked up to where Harry and Ginny were standing.   
“Thanks for keeping it quiet, little.” He said, and hugged Ginny tightly, lifting her off the ground.   
He grinned at Harry: “So, is it going to be _Harry Weasley_ for real, then?” He asked with a wicked grin and pushed a fist into Harry’s upper arm. Harry grinned.   
“Shut up!”, Ginny laughed. “But actually, we haven’t talked about that yet. Maybe we should.” She continued more earnestly, turning around to look at Harry.   
“I’ll leave you to it.” Charlie offered and left them, going to say hi to Ron and the others.  

“I don’t want you to give up your name.” Harry murmured. At the same time Ginny said, “I don’t want us to have different names.” They looked at each other and started laughing.   
“So, Weasley it is?”, Harry joked, and Ginny laughed even harder.   
“No, something about _Harry Weasley_ sounds completely off.” She said, making a face somewhere between disgusted and amused.  
Harry shot her a look, taking her hand in his.   
“Are you sure, you want to do this?” He asked, and suddenly he didn’t feel like laughing anymore.   
“What, marry you?” Ginny asked.  
“No, take this – my – last name? It’s got so much _stuff_ attached to it.” Harry replied.   
“Then we’ll share what comes with it,” Ginny offered. “It’ll be _our_ last name.”   
Harry squeezed her hand.   
“I love you," he murmured.  
“That’s why we’re here.” Ginny smiled.  

“Hiya, you two.” A rough, booming voice came from behind them, “Didn’t I tell ya?” Hagrid made a gesture encompassing everything around them, the wind and the noise of the waves crashing on the shore and the people huddled against the violent gusts of wind and spray coming to get them.   
“Hagrid!”, Ginny let go of Harry’s hand and turned around to hug Hagrid. She could only just reach his waist and her arms reached about a quarter of the way around. It looked a bit like a toddler holding on to the legs of a grown-up and Harry snorted.  
Hagrid patted Ginny’s back and it looked like he was trying to knock her to the ground.   
“Hello again, Harry!”, he grinned.   
“Hiya. Was the trip okay?” Harry asked.   
“Gruesome.” Hagrid replied. “But I’m there, tha’s all tha’ matters.”  

“I think, we should go down to the beach, find a nice place somewhere where the wind isn’t so strong.” Ginny said then and unsurprisingly everyone started moving right away.   
“Hey!”, Neville exclaimed at some point, “Has anyone checked the tide table? I don’t think being surprised by the flood is particularly pleasant in this weather!”   
Hermione nodded and grinned.   
“The water is still on the recline. It’ll reach the lowest mark in about an hour! I think we’re going to be safe,” she said. She had to speak rather loudly, too, to make herself be understood.   
They walked in silence and Harry listened to the wind howling and whistling in every nook and cranny it found. He and Ginny walked side by side, fingers loosely intertwined. She had put up the collar of her old, black leather jacket against the wind and her hair was flying around, being attacked, like mad. Her eyes were glistening in the twilight of the dusk settling early around them. Harry had never found her more beautiful.  

After a while, Teddy, who had been walking next to Andromeda, caught up to them, sliding his tiny hand into Harry’s.   
“I like it here!”, Teddy yelled over the noise. Harry smiled down at him.   
“I like it, too.”, he replied, clutching Teddy’s hand a bit tighter as they began a steep decent towards the sandy beach. There was a flash, and Harry turned around, fearing their endeavour threatened by lightning. But it was merely Neville, who had raised a camera and snapped a photograph.  
“You’ll want pictures afterwards!” He called and smiled. Harry gave him the thumbs-up and turned back to watch where he was stepping.  

They gathered behind a small rock, seeking shelter from the wind and finding it.  
“I’ve never seen the sea quite this upset!” Hermione said apologetically.  
“Don’t apologise.” Harry reassured her. “It’s not your fault, you couldn’t have known, and I think it’s brilliant, honestly.”  
“Okay,” Minerva began. “Shall we do it now?”   
Harry looked at Ginny, she was smiling up at him. They both nodded.  
“Yes,” they said.   
They built a loose sort of circle. Minerva, Harry and Ginny in the middle, the others crowded around them.  

 “In all my years on this earth I have never had the pleasure of officiating a wedding,” Minerva began. “And I consider it an honour that it is yours, Harry and Ginny, that will be the first.” She looked at them, smiling.   
“Now, I could start recounting everything from the very beginning, but I don’t want to bore anyone, and I’m sure you all know a lot more stories about Harry and Ginny than I do.” She let out a chuckle and looked around the group of people.   
“So instead, I’ll marry you and help you tell the story of your lives from this moment on.” She inclined her head, “And I’ll make it as short and concise as possible, as not to steal any story time away from the both of you."   
Someone behind Harry laughed.   
“This has all been so very spontaneous, none of us had time to prepare.” Minerva said, “And maybe that is a good thing, or we’d have had time to write down and learn by heart our rambles about everything you went through, about all the great things you have done."  

“But now, we are standing here, on the shore, closest to what, in my opinion, is the most wondrous and scariest thing in the entire world – the ocean.” she continued, raising her voice over the crashing, hissing and creaking noise of a particularly powerful wave.   
“And maybe you want to tell each other, why you’re here.”  
She was looking at Harry now, silently encouraging him to go first.   
He was not nervous; his heart beat a normal rhythm and his mind was clear. He took both of Ginny’s hands, turned to face her and found her eyes. He tried to smile but it was shaky, maybe because he was washed over with emotion and love for her.  
“We would not be here, if it wasn’t for you.” He told her. “As arbitrary as this place might seem, we’re here for a reason. Many reasons probably and I’m certain even we don’t know all of them.” He dragged his thumb across the back of Ginny’s right hand; she smiled privately at him.   
“We faced so much shit,” he continued. “We were both thoroughly fucked over lots of times. But we persisted. We got back up, we brushed it off, we dealt with it and we moved on. I’m so fucking proud of that.” A single tear rolled down Ginny’s cheek and Harry lifted his right hand and brushed it away. Then he looked up, found Ron and Hermione in the group of their family by extension and gave them a smile. Hermione was sobbing, dabbing at her eyes with the sleeve of her jumper.  
“Ron and Hermione know how much I can talk about you without running out of things to say to your praise.” Ron nodded and laughed a little.   
“But from now on I don’t want to talk about _you_ or _me_ anymore. I only wanna talk about _us_. Because that’s what matters most to me: that we’re together. That we stick things out and see them to the end. Because that’s what makes us great.” He breathed to steady his voice. Ginny sobbed quietly, but she was smiling.   
“I love you.” Harry finished. “And I’m thankful to you for not giving up when I had. For understanding the stupid things I did without getting mad and for selflessly being there when I needed you.” He smiled down at Ginny who was sobbing and he brushed away her tears once more.   
Minerva dabbed at her cheeks, breathed and said, “Now you, Ginny.”  

“We’re pretty messed up, if you think about it.” Ginny’s voice croaked. She cleared her throat and swallowed.  
“Sometimes I think, we should not be here at all. The sheer fact that none of us,” she looked around at everyone present, finished with Harry and smiled a tight smile, “ended up permanently in a mental hospital has me perplexed from time to time.” She said, her voice a lot steadier, now. Harry looked up, around the group of people that meant the most to him. Hagrid hat got a handkerchief from somewhere. It was, as usual, the size of a tablecloth. He was dabbing at his eyes, taking long breaths to steady himself and his sobs. Harry smiled at him briefly and returned his gaze to Ginny.   
“I’ve been a fighter for almost all of my childhood and youth.” Ginny continued. “I had to start fighting my brothers as soon as I could walk, and I had to start talking back the minute I learned how to speak. Sometimes, I had to fight to keep the food that was on my plate or Bill would take it.” There was a chuckle.   
“I had to fight to be taken seriously as the fucking seventh Weasley child that came after her six brothers. I had to scream to have the teachers hear me from amongst all the noise my brothers had made before me. I had to fight against a piece of fucking soul I thought was my friend but instead I got possessed by one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes.” The disdain was palpable in her speech. Hagrid hiccoughed and Andromeda took a sharp breath.   
“I fought constantly and consistently until the Battle of Hogwarts. And afterwards I fought the demons, the anxiety, the depression and the fear.” Ginny paused. Even the noise of the wind and the waves seemed somehow subdued and Harry wondered if she really was that powerful she could silence a storm. It didn’t seem so unlikely, at all, and he looked at her, his eyes probably wide and cheeks as flushed as they felt. Ginny threw him a brilliant smile from amidst the bright red strands of hair framing her face, one of the heart-stopping and butterfly-inducing smiles, and she shook her hatred and the darkness in her eyes and continued.  
“I became a professional Quidditch player and from then on I fought every week. Fought for a win, fought for the Championship and once I fought to avoid relegation. Some of these fights were won, and some lost. Some were even both.”   
Harry listened, and had to suppress the urge of pulling her close.   
“But with you,” Ginny found his gaze and gave him a small smile, “I’ve only ever had to fight to stay away.” She was smiling more broadly, now, and something warm began glowing in Harry’s stomach.   
“And for the past few years I haven’t had to do that anymore.” She squeezed his hand three times – their secret sign. “Fight to stay away from you, I mean,” she clarified.   
“I’ve always loved you, and I can’t wait to start a family with you.”  

Everyone around the group looked more or less solemn, now, more or less sobbing, dabbing at their eyes and looking to the ground. Harry’s heart was racing all of a sudden, but his hands were steady, holding hers. There was a short silence before Minerva started speaking again, her voice a bit hoarse and trembling.   
“Let’s proceed to tie the bond between you, then. Have you decided whether you want to keep your respective last names?”  
Ginny flashed Harry the brightest of grins before she answered, “I will be taking Harry’s last name as a sign of our belonging together.”  
“Very well then,” Minerva went on. “Extend your right hands gasping each other’s wrists.”   
They did as instructed. Minerva raised her wand over them.  
“From here on out and from this moment forward you are bound of free will to each other, in good times as in bad, in sickness and in health. Your loyalty to and respect for each other shall never waver, nor the appreciation for each other decline.” Minerva proclaimed and a shower of golden sparks rained down on them.  
“May your marriage be fruitful to both of you and may it partake in the happiness of both your souls.”   
Harry felt warmth inside of him, a prickling sensation unlike anything he had ever felt before and he felt his arm lock into place his fingers around Ginny’s wrist: he couldn’t have broken the connection, even if he’d wanted to. He looked at her, took in her expression, wide eyed, solemn, but glad and a bit fearful – just like he felt, too. He looked at her and felt like if his arm hadn’t been rooted to hers he could have flown away and got lost in the storm that was raging all around them; He felt so light. 

They locked eyes, and he smiled at her. The force, connecting their arms broke and instantly he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, lifting her off her feet with an ease it surprised even him. She pressed against him, burying her hands in the hair on the back of his neck. He held on to her and never wanted to let go, breaking their kiss as he set her back down and burying his face on her shoulder, fighting back the tears that were pooling in his eyes.   
“I love you.”, he whispered against the smooth leather of her jacket. “I love you so fucking much.”   
A silent sob shook her shoulders and then they broke apart. It was only now that he realised everyone was applauding, whooping and whistling over the noise of the wind and the waves that had suddenly returned. They turned towards their family, smiling.  

Hermione beat Molly to hug them first but that didn’t stop the latter: she threw her arms around the tree of them, sobbing and whispering “Congratulations!” over and over again.   
The hugs, teary congratulations and pats on his back went by Harry almost like a haze. The only thing certain was Ginny’s warm left hand in his right, the ring her had given her ages ago pressing into the crook of his middle and fourth finger. He squeezed it three times.  

 

“Now, where do we go and celebrate?” Someone was asking loudly over the renewed noise.   
“There’s a café over there, we could go to.” Hermione suggested, “Oh wait, no. It’s a muggle one and well-.” She looked at Hagrid, giving him a smile.   
“One second.” She then said lifting her hand in a stop-gesture. She took out her wand and pointed it to an even plane, halfway up the way they had come. Harry didn’t understand what she was saying but afterwards a yellowish light protruded from the tip of her wand, flying up to the spot Hermione had picked out. When it reached the place, it exploded like fireworks and the next moment, there was a tent.   
“Let’s go!” Hermione said and started climbing up the small path they had descended before.  

The tent was warm on the inside and it stood sturdily against the storm. It was big enough to fit Hagrid but small enough to feel cosy. There were a few armchairs backed against the wall and cushions scattered all over the floor. Harry grinned, when he entered.   
“Wow,” said Neville. “How did you do it?”   
“Oh, I picked up that spell from an old book on travelling magic and I thought it could be useful, so I practised it.” Hermione flushed. “It was invented by a medieval wizard called Ignatius the Mighty. He experimented a lot with his magic and invented a few spells but most of them are so difficult hardly anyone can cast them.” She flushed a bit more. “Not that I-”   
Neville put an arm around her and said, “There’s no need to be embarrassed. You’ve always been the best amongst us!”   
Hagrid who had overheard the conversation, boomed: “Brightest witch o’ her age, I called’er.”   
Hermione turned around to Hagrid. His head was only just not touching the ceiling.   
“Oh wait- I forgot!” She said, pointing her wand at one of the armchairs that instantly grew to three times its size.   
“Thanks, Hermione.” Hagrid said and sat down with a deep sigh, rubbing a hand over his knee, “Tha’ weather makes me bones crack. ’s too wet.” He closed his eyes, reclining into the back of the chair.  

Someone had brought a bottle of firewhiskey. Harry suspected it had been George or Charlie and soon he found himself clutching a tumbler and emptying it “to love”. The next one went “to surviving”, and they all took a hit to their stomachs remembering everyone who should have been there. Charlie quickly poured them all new drinks and this time they toasted “to happiness, be it hard to find sometimes”.   
But Harry’s happiness came easily today. He smiled, shotglass still clutched in is hand, looking around the room for Ginny. She was sitting with Luna, Hermione, Neville and Hannah, talking. But she looked up just in time to see him looking at her, excused herself and came over.   
“Hiya. Don’t drink too much,” she said, smiling. “I want a fucking proper wedding night, if you know what I mean.” She took the newly filled glass from Harry’s grip and toasted, “To storms on the sea shore!” before her words had registered with anyone around them and caused utterances of disgust or celebration. 

They both wound up drunk, so it wasn’t so bad that Harry shot Ginny’s warning to the wind. It became a competition between Ginny, her brothers and Harry to make up the most ridiculous toast. Harry lost count of how many shots of firewhiskey he’d had. There was a warm feeling in his gut and he felt bubbly, excited and happy, drunk on feelings as well as alcohol.  
Only when he got up to say goodbye to Molly and Arthur, who were going home, did he notice he had a hard time standing up straight, let alone walk. He brushed it off, concentrating on the warm and relaxed feeling in his stomach and went over to them.  
“Drink enough water.” Molly said and chuckled, “and I’ve left some Pepperup-Potion on the table in your living-room.” Harry nodded.   
“Thanks for comin’” He murmured and hugged them both.   
Hagrid got up, too.   
“’m too old for a party, methinks.” He said. “I’ll see ya next week sometime.” He told Harry.   
“I’m glad you could make it.” Words did not come easy for Harry anymore and he had to concentrate on each word as not to say ‘Thanks for making it’ or ‘I’m glad for coming’. The thought made him giggle.   
“Take it easy.” Hagrid said, grinning as he watched Harry lose it at his own thoughts. “Maybe drink some water.”  

 

Harry awoke because someone was throwing up noisily outside.   
His head was throbbing and when he tried to open his eyes, the dim light of the early morning, that filtered through the canvas of the tent, hurt his eyes so much he had to stifle a groan. He felt miserable, dizzy and nauseous, even lying down. He moved his head slowly and looked around the room. Everyone was still sleeping soundly except for Hermione who had sat up and looked around sleepily, too.   
“Are you okay?” She whispered when she noticed Harry was awake, too. He tried to nod but he got dizzy from it.  
“Kind of.” He murmured back. “But someone outside isn’t.” 

Hermione got up and left the tent to go look. Harry tried to sit up, it went surprisingly well, even though he felt shaky and weird. He located his wand tucked into the waistband of his trousers and summoned an empty glass and filled it with water. Drinking it he felt better already, if only slightly. He looked around.   
Ron lay, his head on one of the cushions, in the middle of the room. George had curled up on Hagrid’s gigantic armchair and was snoring peacefully. Harry got up, carefully and made his way outside, hoping that fresh air would calm down his upset stomach and his headache even more.   
Hermione was sitting next to Ginny, who, by the look of it had been the one throwing up. She was positively green in the face and looked worse than Harry felt.   
“We went a bit overboard, yesterday, huh?” he asked quietly. Ginny nodded weakly.   
“The weird thing is, I didn’t even have half as much to drink as you had.” She groaned, “And yet you’re much more okay than I am.”   
Harry sat down on her other side and put an arm around her.   
“Don’t.” She protested. “I’m gross.”   
“No, you’re not.” Harry murmured. “And after all, ‘in sickness and in health’, right?”   
She smiled weakly and covered her face with her hands.   
“I’m such a mess.” She complained but Harry just shrugged and finally, she put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.  

 

Ginny got substantially better over the next half hour while they sat there and talked quietly. Harry’s hangover, however, remained the same: uncomfortable but bearable.   
“That’s weird.” Ginny murmured when he told her that he didn’t feel any better at all.   
Then her eyes grew wide. “That’s _really_ weird. It’s almost like-” she paused. “Like me being sick wasn’t a hangover.” She looked at Harry wide eyed, biting her lips.  

And the pieces fell into place, all at once, making Harry’s breath hitch momentarily.    
“No.” Harry said weakly. “ _Really?_ "   
“I mean, I can’t be sure, but we weren’t exactly careful over the past couple of months, were we?” She whispered, her face suddenly alight with happiness.   
“Oh my _god!”_ She screamed, suddenly. And she dissolved into happy giggles. Harry was stunned into motionlessness. He was going to be a father.   
“We have to find out!” Ginny got up, excitedly. “Like _right now!_ "   
“And how?” Harry wanted it to sound sarcastic, but it came out squeaky and almost scared.  
“There’s a spell.” Ginny said.   
“A spell?” Harry echoed, dazed and a bit dizzy – though not from his hangover anymore – or maybe he was but he didn’t care.   
“Mum taught it to me when I turned thirteen, because she didn’t want me to have to suffer a pregnancy scare, if ever something happened.” Ginny explained. “It’s not one hundred percent accurate but almost.”  

 Harry’s heart was racing as he looked at his wife – _his wife._ They had not been married a day and it still felt new and unfamiliar to call her that. And now _this._  
“Let’s find out!” She whispered. “I have to know.”   
Harry nodded, somewhere under all of his nerves he found excitement.   
“Let’s go down to the beach, okay?” he suggested quietly, and Ginny nodded, taking his hand. His head spun when he was on his feet and it took him a few moments to steady himself.   
“I wish I wasn’t this hungover,” he murmured and tried to smile at Ginny.  

They reached the sand, the water was reclining again, and about half of the beach was visible, and little pools of water remained on it.   
“Can we walk a while?”, Harry asked, his heart was still racing, and he got gradually more nauseous. He broke a cold sweat.   
“Come on, let’s sit down a minute.” Ginny suggested. “You’re ice-cold and I’m afraid you’ll collapse.”   
But Harry kept walking and when Ginny tried to force him to stop he freed himself from her grip and began running, shaky and clumsy because he wasn’t okay at all. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be a father. It wasn’t even that he was scared of being one. But the only thing his mind could concentrate on was: _what if something goes wrong, what if we lose the child, what if Ginny gets ill,_ and worst of all, loudest of all, his thoughts screamed at him, _WHAT IF I’M A BAD DAD?_    
He collapsed, a ragged sob braking from his throat, breath hitching. 

He felt a warm hand on his back, and a hand on his side.   
Ginny didn’t speak but held him, made him sit up in the sand. Together, side by side they watched the waves roll onto the beach, the last traces of the storm still making them more violent than was normal, but nothing compared to yesterday.   
Slowly, with each wave braking he calmed down.   
“I’m sorry.” He croaked.   
“Don’t be.” Ginny murmured back, “It’s okay.”   
Harry turned his head to look at her. She sat there, peaceful, calm, rock solid and smiled.  
“It is a lot, to be honest.” She continued.  
“It is.”, Harry admitted. “And I just feared for a moment that I would be a bad father.”   
Ginny turned to look at him.  
“But that was silly.” He said and took her hand in his. “Because you won’t let me.” He kissed her.  

“Let’s find out if I freaked out for nothing, okay?” He said.   
Ginny nodded, and produced her wand from the pocket of her leather jacket. She took a deep breath.   
“I’ve done this twice before,” she admitted. “Once when I was fifteen and was with Dean, and once when I was seventeen and you had just gone for Auror training. Both of those times I was freaking out because I didn’t know what I would do if it turned out positive.” She whispered.   
“Today I am freaking out because I don’t know what to do if it turns out negative.” She took Harry’s right hand with her left, reaching across because she was sitting on his left side. He put his free arm around her shoulders.   
“We’ll figure it out, as we always do.” He murmured and pecked her on the cheek. Ginny raised her wand and performed a very complicated pattern of swishes and flicks. A white sort of mist collected at the tip of her wand, like a ball.   
“Now we wait,” Ginny mumbled. “If it turns a yellowish-brown colour it means negative. If it turns bright blue, it’s positive.”  

She put the wand behind them and threw her right arm around Harry’s neck.   
“It’s unbelievably beautiful here, isn’t it?” she said with a nervous little laugh.   
“Yeah,” he replied, staring out onto the unruly water trying with all his might not to be too excited in case it was negative.   
They were silent, he could feel Ginny’s heart pounding as well as his own. He tried to think of nothing in particular but failed: He kept picturing a baby, small, delicate and fragile, smiling up at him as he leaned over the edge of the crib.   
“It’s time.”, she said suddenly, reaching behind them for her wand.   
“No matter what,” Harry said. “I love you and we’ll manage.” Ginny nodded and took her wand out from behind her back.   
The misty ball at the tip had turned bright blue.  

“Oh my god,” Ginny whispered, as she looked at it. “Oh my _god!”_    
She turned to Harry, eyes wide. His heart had stopped beating for a few moments. He took a deep breath, it made a weird, choking sound.   
“We’re going to be parents.” He breathed. He felt a grin spread on his face and could see it mirrored in Ginny’s expression.   
She threw herself at him, knocking him back into the wet sand. His lips found hers and they were kissing frantically, overwhelmed by their feelings. Ginny sobbed and broke the kiss, resting her head against Harry’s chest.   
“We’re going to be a family.” She choked.   
Harry stroked her hair and waited until she had calmed down enough to sit up. His back was damp and they were covered in sand, but he didn’t care. He was going to be a father, Ginny was going to be a mother and they would have a little family of their own.   
He was going to do everything he could to keep this child safe, sound and make sure it felt loved. He pledged silently, picking up a small stone, and when they got up to go back, he climbed a small rock and threw the pebble as far out into the sea as he could and watched it break the surface, thankful for all the happiness these steady waves had brought him over the past few hours.  

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very old hedcanon of mine: Ginny and Harry eloping and finding out they're going to be parents at the same time. I hope you liked it -- I'd love to hear what you thought about it.


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